Tree and Me

I often write lyric prose, not considered poetry by most,
but enjoyable for all of that. This is an oft requested piece
at Bardic Circles.

faucon
......................................

STAFF and TREE

Grasp a solid staff in hand and marvel at the strength that it draws up from the earth! Walk in a silent wood and hear only the measured thump as the shaft guides your way. Nature is strong in the blood and even a swordless knave can feel kinship with a knight and lord. There is not a man who does not feel a stirring of the heart at the hint of the first Spring blossoms taking a risky glimpse at a New World. Is it a kinship with a sense of awe lost with innocence long ago? Some primordial yearning for a time when work was more directly connected with hands, and dirt and wood? Is there Viking in your past, or Frankish soldier or Norman warlord? Or is it that we have a special link to the trees, one that we need not understand. Hold close thy staff and sing with me.

Religion, sorcerers and bards draw from trees in symbol and in purpose; a carved figure on a spear, an olive branch or a structured tree on a barren hill. Others draw strength from the connected roots and life giving elements from earth to heaven. Whether there is truth in none of these, or in all, explore for yourself. Hug a tree! Embrace the texture, vibrancy, scent and strength. You will discover that this simple act will allow you to hug another person more profoundly. Hold close thy staff - it is a tree!

As we travel the way of a knight or other personal growth and internal peace, we tend to forget the lessons of the trees. When confronted with a life branch before us, a choice of commitment, integrity or purpose; we choose a path and then spend all of our time justifying that decision. Each day brings us new choices, and each year a chance for renewal. Our life decisions may need pruning or grafting. The very soil in which we have planted our roots may have to be tilled, nurtured or the field abandoned. Each branch and fork in every tree provides the key to all tranquillity. Time proceeds one addition in a measured step, each segment in exact mathematical proportion to the one from the proceeding year. All of mans’ attempts to control his environment and stand up to forces of God and Nature cannot forestall this imperative.

Sheath thy great sword and take up this staff - this branch. The tiny twigs swirling in the ripples of a pool are but a minuscule tree branching into the depths of myth and outward to the mysteries of the heavens. If you view this covenant as an oppression of your spirit - it will destroy you! If you view the gift of free will as an obligation or requirement to be restrained by choices - you will never be at peace. If you can live each day in gratitude that a choice was possible, and pass the branch like a baton to another, then you will embrace compassion and fellowship with the essence of man. Walk with a staff and you walk with me.